The Twilights: The Basics of Secrets

Chapter 17

Azura

Zaplion reminded me of Sugloria in so many ways. Jay had to fly high because of the super dense forests. He eventually landed the ship in a tiny clearing of trees.

A heavy fog blocked most of the view. That was the main difference between the two planets: Sugloria had heavy rains but little to no fog. The forests were dense, but that's because they had thick tree trunks. These trees were slim and close together. The ground on Sugloria was softer and you had to climb over fallen trees. Zaplion was just ridiculously claustrophobic. When we were flying, I could see large clearings made, whereas Sugloria remained pretty intact.

Jay creeped silently in the forest. If there was a Zario temple here, it was probably monitored for Zario like us. Jay stepped strangely to be quick, but I was still beating him. I was in my territory again. I got the inkling that Jay choose this temple specially for that reason.

A small clearing led way to a giant tree. Not giant. Ginormous. Any word to describe something so unrealistic was how big this tree way. The fog made it look like multiple trees at a glance, but I could see it was one whole. In the clearing in front of us, shrubs had been cut to make a maze to get to the temple. Jay didn't seem bothered by it and took the correct path to the temple. He got us to the front, but there was no door. I watched as Jay raised an arm to the tree, and like how I had done with my house on Sugloria, Jay opened a door in the tree. The vines inside the tree uncurled with the bark and a square doorway now stood before us. Jay let me enter first and as we both go in, the bark reshut itself.

The interior wasn't made of wood like the tree. Instead there were stone walls and the floor was carpeted in a brown color. A main table was covered in dust in the center foyer and four sets of doors led to different parts of the temple. Behind the table was a large staircase, which Jay went up and I followed.

"So, did the Empire just forget about this temple?" I asked Jay.

He gave a slight chuckle. "No. There are seven temples; one for each element. You could probably guess that this was for wood. They tried to take control of the temples, but the ghosts of the galaxy know when dark forces are trying to force their way in. The Zaria couldn't keep a handle on them. I don't think the Zaria tried to stay here; just drove out the previous Zario."

If Jay could control wood, it's probably why he knows where he's going in here. It's so large, I would easily get lost. But he directed us to a large standing room without falter. Inside, the room's walls were covered in velvet and mini stands for people sat circled around the room. A giant circle was raised in the center of the room and two steps led up to the circle.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Jay.

He walked over to a large chain on the opposite side of the room. "We're getting you your staff." Excitement jumped into my heart. Jay pulled at the chain and the circle opened. Inside was a pool of liquid silver. Jay took a seat in the stands. "Step up to the pool and hold your hand out over it. The pool will do the rest."

I wasn't sure how that would work, but I took his word for it. I went up the two small steps and leisurely held out my hand. At first nothing happened, but then the silver began to bubble and move around faster. The liquid metal defied gravity and rose into the air. A tiny bit of the metal came up and touched my palm, it burned and I yanked my hand back. The silver continued to swirl in front of me. It began to come together and form a handle like Jay's. Then the metal split in half and another handle began to form. Two staff handles were now perfectly crafted and waiting for me to grab them. I looked to Jay for approval and he gave me the okay nod to take them.

The metal wasn't hot but rather a bitter cold. Engraved on the ends were outlines of leaves weaving all around the top of the handle. From looking at Jay's staff, I knew which button to press on both of them and the ends of the staff shot out. Jay's light glowed green, but mine were a bright and vibrant blue. I spun them in my hands. My left hand was unused to it at first, but with practice I could get it.

"There isn't a button for it to turn into something else." I showed Jay as he came to see the staffs.

"That's because you have two staffs. Very rarely does that happen." He sounded impressed.

Did this mean I was special somehow? I didn't care in that moment. With the staffs, I already began to feel like a Zario. The ghosts of this temple were all around and their history was here. I was going to learn it. I'm going to start my path and once I start walking it, I won't turn back. Not for fear or doubt. I won't turn back.